The advances in “Internet of Things (IoT)” technology have recently allowed various objects (things) to be connected to the Internet and to enable utilization of services via the Internet by cooperating with the cloud. Services become utilizable after a setting is made in devices, which are things, belonging to respective users or groups to cooperate with a personal computer (PC) or a mobile terminal.
For example, users utilize services by using their mobile terminals. In such cases, users sometimes utilize services from their mobile terminals via a device. Users are allowed to utilize services customized for them once they are authenticated by the device.
An account identifier (ID) and a password are sometimes used in user authentication performed in such cases. For example, the user inputs their account ID and password into a device. The device that has received the input account ID and password performs user authentication for a service in accordance with the input account ID and the password.
There is a technique that allows a device to request another terminal to perform user authentication in place of the device. According to such a technique, an authentication terminal loads authentication data used to perform personal authentication in response to a proxy authentication request from a device, transmits an authentication request to an authentication server together with the loaded authentication data, receives an authentication result from the authentication server, and notifies the device of the result.
Examples of the related art include International Publication Pamphlet No. WO 2009/028606, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2011-232794, and International Publication Pamphlet No. WO 2011/074500.